French Language Classes

Our French courses emphasize modern spoken French. Class time stresses communication in the language in everyday situations and invites students to begin speaking from the first day of class. Emphasis is given to standard French, recognized and understood internationally, so students will be able to communicate with French-speaking people worldwide. The emphasis of Washington Academy of Languages French classes is on conversation; however, we also work on listening, reading and writing since these four skills are essential to language acquisition.

Schedule

Any registrations received after the deadline will be charged a $25 late fee
-Classes must have a minimum of 4 students to run.

-All classes are 20 hours.

-Classes cost $350.

Winter Schedule: February- March

Classes above level 1 require a placement or the previous level. New students may find placement information here.

February schedule will be posted at the end of January. If you would like a notification when a new schedule is up, you may enter your email here.

Levels

French 1

By the end of this session, the student will be able to interact minimally in French. Classes are conducted in French; grammatical and cultural notes may be clarified in English. Extensive practice of pronunciation is provided to create a solid foundation for proficient speech. Participants will learn the present tense conjugation of regular -er verbs and some irregular verbs, basic greetings, numbers, the days of the week, months, definite, indefinite and partitive articles, negation (with ne…pas), stress pronouns, some adjectives and the impersonal expression il faut. Vocabulary focus is on meeting and greeting people, describing people, expressing opinions about others, organizing a vacation, expressing likes and dislikes, and family.

French 2

Prerequisite: Completion of French 1 or instructor’s permission

Material introduced in this course includes the present tense of -ir and -re verb groups, some irregular verbs, adjectives and adjectival agreement, the present perfect (passé composé) the command form (imperative), the partitive article, adverbs of quantity and frequency, expression of location and telling time, direct and indirect pronouns, and prepositions of places. Vocabulary includes daily habits, directions, work-life, and shopping.

French 3

Prerequisite: Completion of French 2 or instructor’s permission

French Level 3 will start with reviewing and solidifying skills learned in the previous levels. By the end of level 3, learners will be able to correspond via letter or email. They will also acquire the vocabulary necessary to introduce and talk about friends or family members. Learners in Level 3 will also be able to talk about important moments in their lives and recall scenes of a movie using time sequence terms and dates.

French 3 students will also be practicing more advanced phonetic tasks such as rhythm and intonation in sentences and how they can impact the meaning of words used. Journal entry is a requirement in this level as the learner will work on more reading and writing skills.

French 5

Prerequisite: Completion of French 4 or instructor’s permission

At this level, the student learns the conditional and the expression of hypothesis, prepositions to locate things in space, uses and conjugations of the imperfect past (l’imparfait) versus present perfect (passé composé), expressions of sequencing and an introduction to reflexive verbs. Vocabulary focus is on feelings and emotions, leisure activities, making plans and recommendations, descriptions of events and giving directions.

French 6

Prerequisite: Completion of French 5 or instructor’s permission

This course introduces the relative pronouns qui, que and dont, object pronouns y and en, simple future, passive pronominal structures, using the subjunctive after expressions of personal opinion and the impersonal subject. Vocabulary focuses on using arguments to convince people, describing personalities, debating and taking charge of a conversation.

French 7

Prerequisite: Completion of French 6 or instructor’s permission

This level introduces students to past perfect (plus-que-parfait), passive voice, temporal expressions, subjunctive, passé simple, gerunds, and interrogative forms in the negative. Vocabulary focuses on societal issues, the expression of desire and will, and description of places.

Intermediate French Conversation

Designed for students at the intermediate to low advanced level. The focus is on increasing comprehension and fluency in the language, vocabulary building and revision of grammar points. Discussion on topics of interest helps students to express their ideas correctly, clearly and effectively. The course is customized to fit the needs of class members. Great for travelers too!

Custom Program

WAL can design a special language program for you or your group. Custom classes are planned with your needs and objectives in mind. WAL has the materials and instructional staff to provide you with an outstanding experience! Choose the number of hours you want to study and the dates of your study and we will design a program just for you.

Custom Programs may be contracted in 10-hour blocks. Meetings must be a minimum of an hour and a half and meet once a week or more. Request a Custom Program here.

Corporate Programs

Communication is always key, especially in the world of business. Our experienced instructors are ready to come to your office with a tailored, industry-specific approach to language instruction. Program content is customized to meet the needs of individual companies.

Instruction requires a minimum of 10 hours total and a minimum of 1.5 hours per lesson. Programs are generally scheduled on weekdays. Meeting dates and times are flexible. Instruction can be delivered at corporate sites or at our downtown office.

Please contact us at 206-239-4789 or wal@cityu.edu for more information or to receive quote.